The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) strike continues. The Washington Post reports that Antonette Bryant, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 (ATU), will present management’s final contract offer to ATU members; nevertheless, she expects that they will vote to reject it. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle observes that the strike could have a negative, long-term impact on the public perception of unions (particularly transit unions). Finally, the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times all report that a BART train returning from a routine maintenance trip hit and killed two workers conducting a track inspection on Saturday afternoon. The ATU said that it would not picket on Sunday out of respect for the victims and their families.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the annual cost of living adjustment for Social Security will likely increase benefits by about 1.5% in 2014. The Journal suggests that this increase is a “modest” one that “reflects low inflation and slow economic growth.” Earlier this week, CNN called the increase “very small,” and noted that in four of the past five years, Social Security recipients have “receive[d] little or no increase in benefits.”
In a Washington Post interview, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, discusses the recent government shutdown and its effects on government employees.
Finally, in the Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik expresses support for the CEO pay ratio rule recently proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The rule would require many large public companies to disclose the ratio of their CEO’s salary to their median worker’s salary.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]